Sewer Authority Orders Smelly Meter Pit Sealed

April 22, 1986|The Morning Call

Forks Township residents plagued by odors from a sewage metering pit at Zucksville Road and Bushkill Drive soon may have their problem resolved.

The Easton Area Joint Sewer Authority last night decided personnel at the sewage treatment plant would move to seal the pit, while Forks would foot the bill to vent the sewer gases in less-populated locations in the system. Authority member James Reilly of Forks said the problem has existed for several years. The alternate venting will be completed before the pit is sealed, authority members agreed last night.

The metering pit is the only one in the sewer system used exclusively by the township.

"It was emitting odors for quite a long time," Reilly said. "The neighbors there had complained quite bitterly about it."

In other matters last night, authority member John Cappellano said he would bring in estimates at the next authority meeting to renovate a portion of the administration and laboratory building at the sewage treatment plant to allow for more office space. The authority last month defeated a move to rent office space in the Alpha Building in Easton for personnel like authority consultant Thomas Goldsmith.

"We've got a critical situation down there," Cappellano said of the space shortage. Additional office space may be factored into plans being drawn up now for new secondary sewage treatment equipment. The authority has opted to pursue plans for a system called orbal aeration that would replace the current system known as rotating biological contractors. A majority of the RBC units are currently out of service. Authority engineering consultant, PSC Environmental Services, has said the orbal system is less prone to mechanical failure.